Chapter 2: The Girl
With money Flynn had made off the museum heist he had bought an old clonker of a car. It didn't go very fast or was quiet by any means of the word, but nobody would look twice at the small once-was-whit-now-more-dirty-than-anything coming down the road. He packed a bag with some clothes and other necessities for a couple of days, and off he went.
He'd gotten an envelope from the buyer with some details and a picture of the girl. She was something of a looker, big green eyes with long blond hair. It wouldn't be a strain being stuck in a car with her for a few days. Flynn was meant to pick her up in the back of an alleyway behind a bakery at six in the morning. On godly hour that was, did anybody not realize that he needed his beauty sleep?! Honestly, looking this good came with a responsibility.
He found the place easily enough, but no Blondie in sight. He got out the car and jumped up and down a bit. Winter was coming in fast and before the sun was up, the chill was very noticeable. It wouldn't be soon before the snow came. Flynn hated snow, very bad for sneaking around in.
A little cough brought him spinning around. She stood in the doorway, drowning a big coat. In one hand she had an old suitcase and in the other a little puppy was snuggling into the crook of her arm.
"Miss Grimm?" Flynn asked her. She only nodded her response. "I'm Flynn Rider, I'm going to be your chauffeur. Let me help you with that" He gave her a big smile and went to take her bag. She handed it over, still not talking to him. Time to turn on the charm then, Flynn though. He opened the door for her while turning on the smoulder. "Please Miss, after you"
She looked at him and gave a snort of a laugh. Defiantly not the normal response to the smoulder, he thought as he walked around the car and got in. He cranked up the car, and on they went.
The radio wasn't working right and after a good half hour listening to static, he turned it off and tried for a conversation instead.
"Cute puppy, what's it called?" Flynn asked.
"Pascal" Rapunzel answered while petting the dog behind the ear. It was clearly loving it by the sounds coming from the little animal
"Cute name" Flynn said, not really knowing what else to say. Normally girls where all over him. He fell into silence once again.
After about an hour Rapunzel finally decided to talk. "Who are you?"
"Flynn Rider is the name" He said with a big smile and a slight lift of one of the eyebrows. That always seems to please the ladies.
"Yes, I understood that. But who are you? Are you hired by my mother?" Rapunzel pressed.
"Um, you mother? I was hired by and old colleague of mine, said you needed a ride and that was it really." Flynn said for the first time not felling 100% confident. "Why do you need to go there?"
"Doesn't matter. So you have no idea, who I am?" She said.
"Well, you are the lovely Miss Rapunzel Grimm of High Tower Lane 12, above the bakery. What else do I need to know?" Flynn threw her a wink.
"Nothing else apparently" Rapunzel smiled back, the smile not quite reaching her eyes.
After a few hours on the road, Flynn began to notice a car behind them. When on the highway, most cars had just passed them, as the car couldn't really go the speed limit without the steering wheel shaking to badly. But this car had kept behind them, for at least an hour. Flynn turned off the highway unto a petrol station, to see if the car followed.
"Break time?" Rapunzel said when she noticed the turn.
"No, well maybe" Flynn answered, all his attention on the mirrors to check if the car was following them.
"What?" She said
"Well maybe it's nothing. But there has been this car following us for the last hour or so and I just wanted to check whether it would follow us" Flynn said.
"What?!" Rapunzel said with a bit of panic. "Are you sure we are being followed?"
"Well, I was, but the car didn't turn off with us. So maybe I was just being paranoid" Flynn pulled the car over on the car park attached to the petrol station and looked at Rapunzel "Time to come clean though Blondie, why the panic?"
"Well I…" Rapunzel began, not really knowing how to continue.
"Got all the time in the world Goldilocks, we're ain't going nowhere until you talk." Flynn's mood had plummeted. No such thing as easy money, why oh why did he not learn that. He turned off the car and turned to her, crossing his arms.
"My mother is not a very nice woman. I didn't like it a home anymore, so I wanted to get out, but she wouldn't let me. I tried to run away before, but she always found me and brought me back. I finally got talking to this guy who could help me and he hired me a driver" Rapunzel gestured to Flynn. "I thought that my mother had found out I was gone and sent some of her people after me"
"Your mum not not home then, when I came to get you?" Flynn asked.
"No, she is on a… Lets just call it a business trip" Rapunzel answered.
"Who's your mum?" Flynn asked back now that Blondie was finally talking.
"Have you ever heard of Gothel?" Rapunzel said, not willing to look Flynn in the eyes now. The puppy was whining a now, wanting to get out of the car.
Flynn had heard about Gothel, but almost didn't believe she was a real person. She was known in Corona to be the leader of the drug cartel. Any substance the downtrodden miscreants of Corona could crave, she would supply. While Flynn himself didn't exactly tread on the right side of the law, he never dealt in drugs. He would only steel from people he knew had insurance and from people who had enough anyways. When he lived in the orphanage, he saw the effect of drugs, and he swore never to get evolved. To many of his brothers and sisters had lost their life, figurative or literal to drugs. And Gothel was the spider pulling all the strings. If Gothel really was Blondie's mother, he was going to earn those 1.000 crowns.
"Yes, I know Gothel" Flynn said, not even bothering with any charm now, if he was honest he wasn't going to touch the girl with a ten foot pole.
"Well she would be dear old mumsy to me" Rapunzel said looking sad. "Listen, I know you don't want anything to do with me, I get it. But please just listen, I couldn't stay there for another second witnessing all the evil she does. I tried to contact the police, but she has those bribed. I tried to run away alone, but she would always find me, and pull me back. I need help. I can pay you, a lot more than promised; just take me to the border please. I have a deal with a friend who can help me escape from there, but I need help. Please Mr Ryder. Help me."
"How much more?" Flynn said.
Rapunzel pulled out a roll of bills, looking massive. "I don't know how much this is, but it is all that I have. It's yours, if you will just take me away".
Flynn had never seen that much money in his life. Damn, he could just plain by the island with that. And the whole little umbrella factory. It wasn't like they were actually being followed, so far so good. "All right Blondie deals back on". Flynn turned the car on and turned back on the road. He could tell Rapunzel breathe out a sigh of relief.
Some time after noon Flynn's stomach began to growl. He never was much of a breakfast person, mostly because it was years ago since he'd actually been up before noon. He began scanning the signs for a restaurant. After a little while a burger joint came up. "You hungry Blondie?"
"Mmm yes please" She said looking eager. "We are starving, aren't we Pascal". The puppy barked and jumped up and down.
They walked into the restaurant and sat down at a booth, the table sticky with grease. The place didn't exactly scream class. There were a bunch of truckers sat around, each larger than the next. The place smelled of frying oil, smoke and distinct body odour. Flynn could barely keep his gag reflex down, but Blondie and Pascal where loving it.
"Do you think they might have chocolate shakes here?" Rapunzel said to Pascal, the dog only barking in return giving her tiny puppy kisses on her hands.
Flynn looked over the menu, looking for the least disgusting thing on there. And maybe checking for any chocolate shakes, but he wasn't going to admit that to anybody.
A waitress came over looking like she was on the 14th hour of a 12 hour shift. "Wha' you want?" she said and nearly coughed up a hairball after.
"A cheeseburger, with extra bacon and fries and a chocolate shake please" Rapunzel said beaming.
Damn, the girl could eat, you had to respect that, Flynn thought. "Make that two" He added.
The waitress just walked away, Flynn assumed she heard them. "So what's up with the love for shakes?" He asked Rapunzel.
"Well I never had them, but they just look so absolutely yummi, I had to try one!" Rapunzel answered grinning with excitement.
"Why you never tried that before?" Flynn wondered.
"They are full of white sugar and carbs which makes me fatter. And mother always said that if I got any fatter, nobody would like me" Rapunzel said, trying to hide in her big coat.
Flynn couldn't really get a good look at her body, but he had seen the picture from the envelope and she had a gorgeous body back then. From what he could tell, she was beautiful underneath the coat as well. Anyways, who would say such a thing to their daughter.
"Well I like a girl with a healthy appetite" Flynn said to her with turning on the smoulder.
Rapunzel giggled "Why do you do that weird thing with your face?"
What?! Weird?! His face wasn't weird - he was handsome god damnit! He sulked until the food came, the entire meal dripping with fat. Rapunzel was loving it, moaning with every bite, feeding her extra bacon to the puppy. When it was done with all of her bacon, it started eying Flynn's. After a while it just became sad looking into those huge eyes and he handed the rest of his bacon over to the dog.
"This is the best meal I've ever had" Rapunzel said to the waitress when she came back for the empty plates. Flynn was impressed to see she had finished with every bite on her plate, Pascal only helping a little. The waitress gave a smile and offered them dessert. Without even having to look at Blondie, Flynn said yes please, and she came back with to plates of apple pie with ice cream. Blondie practically flew out of seat when she saw it, gulping it down.
After Pascal had licked the plates clean they where back on the road. Goldie was in better mood humming. Pascal was sniffing out the bottom of the car, trying to find something to chew on.